HTC’s New Virtual Reality Headset

HTC, the Taiwanese giant of the smartphone manufacturing industry, has just that it will release the “Vive,” a virtual reality headset, produced in cooperation with Valve. The device is expected to be released later in 2015.

The first of its kind, the headset will comprise two 1200 x 1080 displays that refresh at 90 frames per second, claiming to offer a photorealistic experience. The headset will, supposedly, fill a wearer’s entire 360-degree field of vision and provide a “full-room scale” experience, meaning that a user will be able to explore virtual spaces from all angles and directions. Hardware includes a gyrosensor, accelerometer, and laser position sensor – tracking a wearer’s movements to within a tenth of a degree. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of the new product is something called the “Steam VR base station,” which will track a user’s location at a distance of up to 15 feet as they walk around a virtual space.

Audio solutions and including wireless controllers (for shooting or manipulating virtual objects) will attempt to make the VR experience as varied and flexible as possible. Users can expect collaborations with material offered by HBO, Lionsgate, and Google.

HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou, says, “We believe that virtual reality will totally transform the way that we interact with the world.”

Chou claimed that Vive users will, in the future, be able to use the device as part of “attending real-time concerts, learning history, reliving memories.”

More details about the much-hyped product will most likely be released at the Game Developers Conference, March 2-6 in San Francisco.